We, the parish of Sacred Heart, are committed to enriching the Spirituality of the parish family, the Christian community, and all brothers and sisters created in God's divine image and likeness. We are called by the Holy Spirit, under the leadership of our Bishop and Pastor, to assist others through the development and promotion of various ministries. We pray for Divine guidance that we may serve others with truth, courage, forethought, and compassion.
UKRANIAN SOLIDARITY REFUGEE RELIEF FUND ADMINISTERED BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
EASY WAY TO HELP - 100% OF PROCEEDS GOES TO HUMANITARIAN RELIEF:
Bishop Malone asked me (Elaine Gallion) to share the message below which he received from Mr. Tom Sweeney, a parishioner of St. Jude Parish, Benton:
This Lent Jesus Christ is being crucified in The Ukraine. The situation is completely dire, the suffering is immense, thousands of innocent noncombatants have been wantonly killed and over 4 million people have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety in neighboring countries. What has been happening in Eastern Europe for the past five weeks are the most momentous events in the lifetimes of most of us! None of us can say how this will end, but one thing is certain, this Lent the people of the Ukraine were tragically joined to the Passion of the Christ and we MUST help them in this, their darkest hour. We have an opportunity to aid them by volunteering to work a parking gate shift at the Spring Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport from April 28th to May 8th. We need to fill 151 shifts working as parking gate attendants. You will be tasked with collecting a $5 parking fee from each car that passes through your assigned area. The work is light and easy, and the time goes by fast. Instead of being paid for your work you would be pledging that money to the Ukraine Solidarity Refugee Relief Fund administered by the Knights of Columbus. 100% of the $15,480 we can raise will be used for humanitarian relief. There will be a Shreveport Police Officer at every location to ensure everyone's safety. You may sign up for more than one shift if you are able. Teenagers sixteen years of age and up may also work at the gates accompanied by an adult. Ukraine is 85% Christian and millions of them are Catholic. Please help in aiding the Refugees from Ukraine, by doing so you will be Eucharist to them. As dutiful Christians we know that on this earth God's work must truly be our own. Click on this link below to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e4bada828abf58-ukrainian
Thank you and God bless you,
Tom Sweeney
NEW HORIZONS:
THE GOSPEL OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
By: Fr. Mark Watson, Pastor
In this Sunday’s Gospel a lawyer approaches Jesus in order to test him. The scholar asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead of answering the question, Jesus asks the scholar to answer the question himself. The scholar answers that one is to “love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul and your whole strength and your whole mind” which is taken from Deut. 6:4-5 and your neighbor as yourself from Lev 19:18. Jesus agrees with the answer and tells the lawyer that if he does this he will live.
THE CALL TO BE NEIGHBOR
The lawyer attempts to trap Jesus by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” When the lawyer asks this question, he fully expects Jesus to quote the Jewish Law by stating that our neighbors are our countrymen or the sojourners in the land. The answer of the Law is narrow. Instead of simply quoting the Law, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and in so doing shows that all are our neighbor.
In the story a man travels through a dangerous area from Jerusalem down to Jericho. He falls in with robbers and is beaten, robbed and left half-dead on the side of the road. In his writing the Scripture Scholar L. T. Johnson shows just how shocking this story is. The robbery itself is shocking. In addition, it is shocking that two religious leaders see the man and yet pass by on the other side of the road. They certainly should have cared for a fellow Jew who was suffering. Instead, they can’t be bothered. The next shocking aspect of the story is that the person who does stop is a Samaritan. For approximately seven hundred years there had been an ongoing hatred between Samaritans and Jews based on religious and ethnic differences. It is surprising that that it is the Samaritan who approaches and shows compassion to the Jew who suffers. In this moment of need he did not consider race or religious belief. We likewise are to help others without considering issues that divide people.
The Samaritan feels compassion for the man and takes the chance of stopping, caring for the man, placing him on his beast, taking him to an inn, and so doing increasing his own vulnerability. The Samaritan likewise gives the innkeeper money for the man’s care and promises more money if needed on the way back. It is the hated enemy who shows compassion. The story is told in a very purposeful way. The story calls us to be neighbor to all. The point is not who is worthy to be cared for but instead calls us to treat everyone encountered—however frightening, alien, naked or defenseless—with compassion. Jesus does not clarify a point of Law, but changes law into Gospel. One who desires eternal life must love as did the Samaritan.
HOW DO WE LIVE THIS GOSPEL?
This reading does not call us to merely help those in an emergency situation as is the meaning we normally think about a “good Samaritan”. We are not only to love in emergency situations, but our lives are to be characterized by love.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus shows us that inheriting eternal life is not only about having faith but is about living a life of love. Jesus shows the lawyer that he must be neighbor to all without distinction. This Gospel reminds us that we are to treat all as our neighbor.
Jesus leaves the lawyer with a challenge and Jesus leaves us with the same challenge, “You go and do the same!” (Luke 10:37). We do not know how the lawyer will respond to Jesus’ challenge. And how will you respond?
Sacred Heart Family,
Sacred Heart Grief Support Group is Helping families recover from the loss of a love one. I also see a need for a Family Support Group to aid our families with a variety of needs, to be able to reach out in a safe and confidential way with other couples. I would like to start a Sacred Heart Family Support Group. The aim is to have family couples that are open minded and nonjudgmental that can listen to each other and share personal reflections.
The aim is to:
· Increase the strength and resilience of families
· Support better family relationships so to reach their full potential
· Helps families make acquaintances with other families and resources in the community
· Provides individualized, family-driven support that respects family culture, values, and preferences
Benefits
· Increases families' level of knowledge about family relationships
· Connects parents with similar experiences
· Reduces the sense of stress and isolation
· Provides opportunities for families to support each other
Please let me know if you would be interested in starting this ministry at Sacred Heart. Just email me individually at deaconnash@sacredheartshreveport.org
Deacon Clary Nash
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After Wed. Morning Mass and
30 minutes before Weekend Masses)
Location:
4736 Lyba Street
Shreveport, LA 71109-0467
Postal Mail:
4736 Lyba Street
Shreveport, LA 71109-0467
Rectory: 318-635-2121
Church: 318-635-2121
Fax: 318-635-5226
Gabriel Hall: 318-635-5446